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PALO ALTO, CA – Unrelenting demand for multiple stock keeping units (SKUs) allowed label converter Dow Industries to install an HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press and immediately fill it with jobs previously printed at a higher cost on the company's analog flexographic presses. The six-color label and packaging press, which is designed to be more cost-effective than analog printing on up to 80% of the label jobs converters typically produce, addresses a continuing trend at the Wilmington, MA-based firm.

"The real thrust behind digital is our customers' increasing need to provide a greater number of SKUs, which is why we've brought in our fourth HP Indigo press with the new WS6000," said Walter Dow, chief executive officer and owner, Dow Industries. "The press's higher volumes let more of our customers gain the advantages HP Indigo digital technology brings–from its ability to reduce client inventory needs, to its superior image quality."

Dow Industries produces most of its work on film, and the improved white HP ElectroInk used on the HP Indigo WS6000 is an important feature for high-quality full-color digital printing on clear or metallic film substrates. Now, more of the brands Dow Industries serves–including those in the health and beauty industry–can use digital printing to pursue sales opportunities.

High-volume digital production on the HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press is said to make it affordable for these businesses to move even very long label runs for a specific product into multiple SKUs, with targeted designs that appeal to different geographies, ethnicities or more. When done strategically, this can result in a boost in overall product sales–making digital converting an essential growth strategy for both Dow Industries and the brand owners it serves.

Brand owners are starting to maximize the opportunity that digital provides. A job with 100 or more SKUs is not uncommon at Dow Industries, and some jobs have required nearly 700 SKUs.

The HP Indigo WS6000 Digital Press reportedly prints up to 98 fpm in four-color mode, and is compatible with a broad range of media–from thinner flexible packaging substrates, to label and shrink sleeve media, to folding carton material. HP Indigo presses, the company says, are the only digital label and packaging solutions that use true PANTONE-licensed spot-color inks or offer four-, six- and seven-color PANTONE-licensed spot color emulation, giving converters the ability to meet their customers' demanding brand color standards.